Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Plenty to enjoy, but ,oh, for the instrumentals!
Yanni's latest release, Ethnicity, is almost unrecognisable to the music he was producing a decade ago. Gone are the intimate piano solos, and in their place, is a much more upbeat sound with regular use of the human voice.There is nothing wrong with this; indeed a few of the tracks are likeable. But the Yanni magic is lacking; too often the tracks pass from one to another without comment. The exception is Track 9, "Almost a Whisper", which to call beautiful would be an understatement. This track alone justifies purchasing this CD, and is sure to feature in his upcoming world tour. As with everything, it comes down to a question of taste. If you enjoy the human voice with some well written tunes, this CD might well be for you. If, like me, the words get in the way of the music and you find you are unable to concentrate on either, then you might long for the days when Yanni produced instrumental music that was instantly memorable because it was highly melodic. Interesting? Yes. Different? Most definitely. Enjoyable? The jury is still out. Be sure to listen to all the samples available before making your purchase.
Rating: - Thanks for the introduction to Mehdi
I've always enjoyed Yanni and this album is no exception, but while reading some of the customer recommendations posted on this page I discovered an artist by the name of Mehdi (pronounced meddie). After some investigation I found his site (SoothingMusic.Com) and listened to the samples...I also downloaded some of the free MP3 downloads that are available[...].
I was instantly blown away by the quality of this music and so I gave it a try and now that I have listened to his CDs several times I really must say that although I'm still a Yanni fan I find Mehdi to be a tad more interesting. I have them both in my multi-disc CD player and love the way they compliment each other. I highly recommend that you give this artist a try or atleast just go listen to the samples, I have a feeling you'll be glad you did.
Rating:  - I Love This CD!
I first became aware of Yanni with "Live at the Acropolis" and "Tribute". "Ethnicity" follows with similar style and energy. I know some of his earlier works were softer and more soothing, so I understand that his long time fans might be surprised by this release but those who enjoyed "Acropolis" and "Tribute" should enjoy this also. This is more of the upbeat, uplifting style heard on those.
Many have complained about all the "singing" but the only 2 songs with actual lyrics are "The Promise" and "Almost a Whisper", both previously released titles with the addition here of lyrics. I'm not in love with either of them. All the vocals on the other 8 that have them are there as additional instruments, not as vocals. I happen to like hearing voice used as an instrument, so it's no surprise that I am happy with this album.
There is a lot of rhythm and percussion on this. I find myself compelled to move and sway to "Playing By Heart" and "At First Sight" and to outright DANCE to "For All Seasons", Rainmaker" and "Play Time", while "Tribal Dream" and "Never Too Late" have an Asian flair to them.
I first listened to "Ethnicity" yesterday. I had to laugh at my 2 year old grandson who started dancing and singing as soon as "For All Seasons" started playing. He has had NO exposure to Yanni in the past so I was thrilled to find him enjoying it.
I love this one so much that I then went on-line to purchase tickets to his concert and I can't wait to see these pieces performed live.
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